Six arrests in Wiltshire as part of nationwide paedophile crackdown

WILTSHIRE Police have arrested six suspects as part of an unprecedented six-month national crackdown on paedophiles coordinated by the National Crime Agency.

It involves 45 police forces across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and has led to the arrest of 660 suspected paedophiles.

In Wiltshire, officers from the Child Internet Exploitation Team (CIET) arrested six suspects including one from Swindon.

Detective Sergeant Jason Roberts, of Wiltshire’s CIET, said: “Wiltshire Police have a dedicated team of investigators that target those suspected of making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children via the internet.

"This operation highlights the national scale of this crime.

"We will continue to work alongside our partner agencies to ensure those arrested are brought to justice and any child that is identified through these investigations are properly safeguarded and protected from the risk of further harm.”

More than 400 children across the UK have been safeguarded. Some of those arrested had unsupervised access to children in the course of their work. They include doctors, teachers, scout leaders, care workers and former police officers.

Of the 660 suspects arrested nationally, 39 people were registered sex offenders but most had not previously come to law enforcement’s attention.

The national operation targeted people accessing indecent images of children online. It has stayed covert till today in order to protect children, identify offenders and secure evidence.

The NCA and its partners are not revealing the methods they used to track down suspects so that they can use the same tactics again.

Wiltshire Police encourage members of the public that have any information or suspect they know someone involved in this criminal activity to pass this information direct to Wiltshire Police via 101 or alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Arrests made in Wiltshire are:

April - Man, 30, from the Tidworth area for making and possessing indecent images of children.

May - Man, 24, from the Trowbridge area for making and possessing indecent images of children.

June - Man, 60, from the Salisbury area for making and possessing indecent images of children.

June - Man, 26, from the Trowbridge area for making and possessing indecent images of children.

June - Man, 49, from the Swindon area for making and possessing indecent images of children.

July - Man, 29, from the Calne area for making and possessing indecent images of children.

All suspects have been initially bailed to return to a designated police station pending further investigation.

Police say all relevant child safeguarding considerations that have been identified as a result of these arrests have been addressed and will be subject to further review in conjunction with partner agencies.